Nick Sirianni found himself in full damage control mode Thursday morning.
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon made a comment that some interpreted as indicating that general manager Howie Roseman was involved in game planning.
Which isn’t a GM’s job.
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“We set up the game plan a certain way and say, ‘Hey, we want to come out of the game kind of looking like this,’ and we do that with the head coach and with Howie,” he said. “But then there is always room for, as you go through the game, how the game goes. You don't know how it's going to unfold.”
It's perfectly normal for a GM to be involved during the week in meetings regarding roster management – after all, he’s the one who built the roster and is responsible for officially submitting game-day elevations and inactives to the league.
It’s not normal for a GM to actually present anything having to do with scheme, formation or strategy to the coaching staff.
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“What Jonathan was talking about, we talk about the roster all the time,” Sirianni said. “We’re always in communication about the roster, and Howie’s expertise is roster management, and so what we have to do - and we meet with Howie all the time – is (ask), ‘Hey Howie, we’re going to need this guy up and we’re going to put this guy down this week and Howie has to make that happen.
“I can’t go and make it happen that (Grant) Calcaterra is down and (Noah) Togiai is up. Howie’s got to make it happen. So we have to go in there and discuss with him: ‘Here’s what we want to happen on the roster this week and you’ve got to make it happen for us, and he does.
“That’s what Jonathan’s talking about. I know it gets twisted and this and that and he might not have said it exactly (that) way, but that’s what Jonathan’s talking about.
“We have Howie’s support and Howie just wants to help us do our job the best we can do and that’s how he helps. ‘Hey, we need (Britain) Covey up, make it happen. Hey, we need Togiai up, make it happen.’ That’s what Jonathan’s talking about.”
Sirianni and Roseman have both spoken extensively about how healthy their working relationship is.
We’ve all seen what happens when it’s not a healthy relationship – whether it’s Buddy Ryan and Harry Gamble, Andy Reid and Tom Modrak or Chip Kelly and Roseman.
“The best teams I’ve been on have a great relationship between the head coach and the GM, the crappiest teams I’ve been on had a bad relationship between the head coach and the GM,” Sirianni said.
“So of course we talk through everything. We discuss everything. But at the end of the day, I have the say of who’s up on game day and what we need.
“He’s not sitting in there game planning with us, either. He doesn’t know (the game plan) exactly – I’ll tell him, ‘Hey we’re going to be in 13 personnel a lot.’ …
“We discuss everything. But at the end of the day, Howie’s going to say, ‘OK, you need three tight ends up this week because the plan calls for it?’ ‘No doubt.’ That’s kind of how it goes down.”